Fever Dreams
by ThePopTartSpirits
Summary: Jou has been admitted to a specialized dream research clinic, but he doesn't know why. All he knows is that this dream seems to be leading somewhere... Puppyshipping, language and eventual sex abound.
1. Chapter 1

**Fever Dreams**  
_a short one by_ The Pop Tart Spirits

F.A.Q.:  
Will I ever stop writing this pairing? No.  
Do I love them? Very much.  
Do I own them? snort

This was going to be a PWP... but it begs chapters. It'll still be rather short, but I want to see if people are intrigued.

The amusing part is that as I'm writing this, I'm eating gummy handcuffs. $1.00 at Walmart, yo.

* * *

_The empty plain stretched out before him; a symbol, he supposed, of the life he led. Here and there sparse underbrush struggled to survive in the harsh, scarlet-tinted elements. _

_He'd been trudging for the eternity between dozing off and now, but his feet were not tired. He was not out of breath, nor sweating from what should have been a punishing heat. He was wearing clothes the likes of which he'd never before owned - a shirt with a very high thread count and not a hole or stain, and trousers that felt like heavy cloth but breathed like they weren't even there. His shoes were sandals, but the sand between his toes did not irritate._

_He didn't quite understand._

_Then, in the distance, loomed a what looked like a sparse oasis. A few scraggly palm trees and the sparkle of water. He didn't let his hopes be raised, however, because he'd been at this particular scenario long enough to know it could just as well be an illusion. So, patiently, he trudged._

_Amazingly the speck of paradise turned out to be real, and he gulped the clear water gratefully. _

_Suddenly, someone sneezed behind him, and he whirled around -_

- and woke up.

Grumbling, Jonouchi Katsuya bunched his pillow and rolled over, clenching his eyes shut in a desperate attempt to return to surreality. It didn't work and for awhile he just lay there, perfectly still, with deep, even breathing.

"You won't fool me, mutt," came a familiar voice. Jou's eyes flew open. "Kaiba? What the fuck're you doing here?"

"I came to visit you," was the answer, and as Jou's sleep-crusted eyes focused, he could make out Kaiba's trademark smirk.

Jou sat up slowly, and rubbed at his face like a child. "Why you, of all people?"

"I can leave..." And Kaiba uncrossed his legs, made to stand up.

"No!" Jou said quickly, cursing himself. _He knows, he knows I've been alone for so long, he knows no one ever visits me anymore..._

Kaiba settled himself, the everpresent smirk deepening, and had opened his mouth to say something when a nurse came in. "Jonouchi-san? You're not supposed to be awake for another half-hour and - sir, who let you in?"

Kaiba turned in his seat and fixed her with a glare. As predicted, the blood in her veins turned to ice and she faltered. "J-Jonouchi-san is supposed to sleep until six," she said faintly. Kaiba turned back to Jou, dismissing her from his presence, and she backed out hurriedly. "I don't suppose another half-hour would have done you any good," Kaiba said. Jou sighed. "Nothin's doin' me any good," he groused. "I've gotten pretty far, and they say that I'm near where all of this is supposedly taking me... but the desert has been going on for about a week now. All I've found is oases. I thought I heard someone behind me before I woke up, but..."

"Desert?" Kaiba was doing a very good job at not looking totally lost, but Jou chuckled. "That's right, this is your first visit, you don't even really know why I'm here. At least it's not a loony bin; then you'd really have the wrong idea.

"I started having these weird dreams about a year back, one after another, and they all seemed to be leading me somewhere. It felt like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, honestly, but no matter where I go there are no sentient beings. Plenty of monsters, and stuff - I've gotten pretty handy with all kinda opportune weaponry." Jou grinned at this, but just as quickly the grin faded. "I wish I could bring someone in with me, but then I remember that it's all in my head."

Kaiba gave no outward reaction; he never did. "Why are they convinced that you need to play this out?"

"I have no fuckin' clue, to be honest," Jou said helplessly. "At first I thought Pop'd had me committed, for whatever reason. These people who work here study dreams, but only ones that show signs like this. There are about fifty of us dreamers here. Trust me, I ask every day - they won't tell me why I gotta do this. I guess they're afraid it'll fuck with the results."

He sighed, leaned back on the headboard. "I gotta tell ya, though, you are a sight for sore eyes. I think I stopped hating you after about the first four or five months of virtual solitary."

Kaiba allowed himself a small smile. He would never tell the mutt the truth, that he had missed Jou more than he had words for. He had tried to tell himself it was because with the mutt gone, he had no one to take his frustrations out on... but he hated himself when he so blatantly lied.

Instead of everything else he could say, he asked, "When do you have to sleep next?"

"Eight o'clock," Jou answered promptly. "They give me the strong shit then, and I'm out like a fucking light until around ten the next morning."

"So we have a few hours, then," Kaiba said. "I imagine you're curious about what's going on in the outside world?"

Jou's hungry eyes spoke for him.

"Well, the -"

The door flew open. Two burly orderlies and a doctor rushed in, and the orderlies grabbed Kaiba.

Or tried.

He had them sliding down the wall and groaning in three moves, and was advancing on the doctor before Jou had even registered movement. The blonde's jaw gaped open.

Kaiba cornered the doctor and slammed a hand against the wall beside the doctor's head. "What is the meaning of this?" he hissed. The doctor quivered.

"Jonouchi Katsuya is to be allowed no outside visitors or information until the - the duration of his installment," the doctor said in a rush. Kaiba quirked an eyebrow and the doctor cringed. "Why is that?"

"Because it might interfere! Please, the experiment -"

"The experiment is a live and functioning human being, who is starved for human contact and doesn't even know why he is here," Kaiba said in low, murderous tones. "You owe him at least the sight of a friendly face."

"But sir!" The doctor cried. "With so much outside influence, we have no way to properly assess the data! We may never reach the end of his journey if the paths are allowed to branch indefinately."

"So you believe that by confining this young man to a bed for however long it takes for his dream to end is an apt solution?" The doctor had no answer for this; Jou was sure that a lesser man would have pissed himself. To the doctor's credit, he was white and trembling, but holding his own against (in Jonouchi's opinion) the scariest person alive.

The doctor nodded. Kaiba snarled in disgust.

"Get out of my sight. I will be gone by the time he is to take his next medicines, but I will be back this day and time every week, do you understand me?"

By now the doctor had figured out who was threatening him, and nodded. "Yes, Kaiba-sama! Yes, of course!" And Kaiba let him leave.

Jou's grin was wider than his face when Kaiba sat back down, and the sight brought a smile to his own thin lips.

They talked incessantly, all traces of former enmity now forgotten, until a nurse knocked hesitantly. Jou watched with a sadness he didn't understand as Kaiba's cold mask locked back into place, and he left. Still, after so long in this white room and his dreams, it had felt good to be in the company of someone who seemed to care.

The pills went down easier this time.

_He glanced around, seeing the oasis empty. He knelt at the water's edge, cupping his hands and drinking again. He knelt there, letting the water settle, until he could see his face. Unlike other dreams, it was the same as though he were looking into a mirror. _

_The sun caught a sparkle and he squinted, peering past his reflection and into clear depths. There seemed to be something silver at the bottom of the pool._

_Looking around once more, this time to make sure he was alone, Jou stripped off his dream-clothes and dove in._

In his lonely room, the monitors he was hooked to registered the moment he began to hold his breath.

* * *

Reviews, please. Thanks. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Fever Dreams**  
_a short one by_ The Pop Tart Spirits

Review, please. I like to know what my readers are thinking; it helps me write.

* * *

_He surfaced for the third time, gasping. No matter how deeply he dove, the glittering of silver was always too far away. Grumbling to himself about magic pools, Jonouchi suddenly shivered. Looking up, he realized how late it had gotten. _

_That was the thing about this dream. It followed a generally normal sense of time. Also, it was quite realistic in that its nocturnal monsters were more vicious and prone to attacking than those that woke by day. Jou glared at the offending sun, which to his annoyance ignored him, and readied his body for one more dive. After this, he told himself, I'll have to figure out where to camp in this oasis. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of shelter..._

_Distracted, he dove... and his fingers dug into silky mud. By not focusing on his goal, he'd managed to make it to the bottom._

_He glanced around for the source of that silver flickering, and saw it just to his right. Hauling himself along the bottom, he came up to the beckoning gleam and saw that it was a small silver casket. More confused than ever now, he picked it up and pushed off the bottom._

_Sitting at the water's edge, already dry from the harsh desert air and back in his dream clothes, Jou regarded the casket. It was about the size of his hand and ornately worked with swirling designs. "What are you?" Jou asked it quietly. "Did you make it impossible for someone to actively pursue you? Are you going to curse me if I open you?"_

_The casket, being a casket, did not answer; Jou solved his dilemma by grabbing the thing and throwing its catch open._

_Nothing happened. Peering inside, Jou found a lot of water, and a sodden velvet bag. When he pried open the bag, a lump of waterlogged paper and a ring fell out. Jou wished to all the heavens that the paper had been intact. He remembered The Lord of the Rings with some trepidation. Finally, he decided to simply pocket the ring -_

_"Of course this shit doesn't have pockets," he murmured, and sending up a silent prayer, he slipped the ring on to his right ring finger._

_Nothing happened. Nodding and rolling his eyes at his fear, Jou made to slip it off so he could study it. It didn't budge. "Great!" he yelled, yanking on his finger._

_A growl answered directly behind him. Jou froze, and turned very, very slowly. _

_Standing five feet away was the biggest -_

He snapped awake. "FUCK!" he yelled, bucking in the bed. The nurse, who'd come in to change his bag, screamed and jumped. Jou noticed her and apologized multiple times, but she was graceful and simply changed the back, smiled, said "It's all right, you just startled me," and backed out.

Jou settled back down and went about the laborious process of falling asleep again.

He was almost there when, unbidden, a thought of Kaiba popped into his mind. He drowsed a bit, smiling, thinking of how Kaiba had jumped the orderlies and thrown the doctor around. After all the screaming fights they'd had, it was good to know that Kaiba actually liked him as a person enough to visit. Who knows, maybe he'll come ag...

_- bear he'd ever seen. What the fuck? Jou thought frantically. I'm in the fucking desert! There's no bears in the fucking DESERT! And it's ORANGE!! What the FUCK?!!_

_Then the bear reared, and Jou forgot every survival program he'd ever seen. He turned and ran. FindaweaponfindaweaponfindaYEOWTCH! The bear swiped at his back with a gargantuan paw and knocked him sideways into the pool. Jou felt fire on his back and side, and knew he was bleeding. He squished into the mud at the bottom of the pool and looked up at his adversary. The bear looked almost toy-like from down there. Jou sat down, not feeling particularly stressed for breath, and leaned back on his hands._

_His left hand went through the mud and touched something hard beneath the muck. Curious, Jou turned and grasped the object. It came free slowly, shlucking out of the mud, and Jou triumphantly held the buster blade aloft underwater. It was six feet in length, one in width. It reminded Jou of Advent Children. Now, he thought, how to get the fuck out of this water without coming up right under the bear..._

_He'd forgotten about the ring._

_All of a sudden, he was lifted bodily out of the water and set gently on his feet across the pool from the bear, which looked between him and the pool in confusion. Jou hefted the sword -_

_and promptly dropped it. "Fuck!" he swore, "things are always so much lighter under water!" Speaking of which, how did I get out of - FUCK! BEAR!_

_He'd forgotten about the ring. Again._

_Instinctively Jou brought the sword to bear and swung at the creature in terror. It collided with the beast's arm with a thunk and a gush of blood, and the bear howled in agony. Jou stared. The arm had been cleaved to the bone._

_The bear decided Jou was no longer easy prey, and loped away on three legs, whimpering. Jou lifted the sword again, and went to clean it. Then he noticed how big it was. "How in the hell? OW!" The ring had constricted on his finger. "Oh, so you're gonna help me, huh?" No more constriction. "Hokay. That's good. I hope you know how to find civilization, too, because I've been travelling for days and haven't seen a thing."_

_The ring instantly shot a beam of light into the distance. No matter which way Jou moved his hand, the beam of light pointed solidly in the same direction._

_"Cool... okay, so how about shelter for tonight?" The ring fell dark. Jou laughed. "Guess that's up to me, then..."_

_Then he noticed he was no longer wounded. Was it the ring, or the water? he wondered silently, then shrugged, swung the blunt side of the sword up on to his shoulder, and went to shimmy up a palm tree. Unlike in reality, he was instantly asleep._

He spent three more dream days in the desert. Dream time was in no way attached to reality, so it was about a week. He could see some sort of city in the distance, and was finding the energy to run instead of trudge towards it when he woke up. He sighed, no longer prone to cursing when it happened, and was about to roll over when he noticed another presence in the room. Astonished, he cried, "I didn't expect you to come back!"

Seto Kaiba smiled slightly. "I keep my promises, mutt."

Jou no longer bristled at the 'mutt'. He secretly saw it as a kind of pet name, and had no idea how right he was. Kaiba had unconsciously incorporated the insult into his daily vocabulary and no longer said it with any kind of rancor.

Jou sat up and drew up his knees, hugging them to his chest. "How's life?" He was like a child, so starved for company. Kaiba would have pitied him if he hadn't understood all too well. "Life is," he said simply. "I've got the company, school and Mokuba."

"Oh yeah, school," Jou said faintly. "Don't really miss that..."

"Were you really doing as poorly as we were all led to believe?" Kaiba asked with a smile. He knew, of course, that he wasn't. Seto Kaiba kept tabs of everything.

Jou had the grace to blush. "Nah, not that bad. I just didn't test well."

"Well, you'll be happy to hear that the DuelDome is working quite well. Mokuba invited Yugi and company over for a quite successful test run." Kaiba didn't add that he'd had the nearly orgasmic pleasure of turning the settings up all the way and watching Yami Yugi battle through all of it. Something he hoped no one would ever find out: his love was for Jou and the Game... his lust was for the dark half of Yugi Moto. Especially when he dueled.

Jou grinned. "I can't wait to play it myself. Is it even better than that virtual reality thing we did that one time?"

"So much better," Kaiba said. "Your soul isn't even at risk."

Jou chuckled a bit at that. Then something struck him, wiping the smile from his face and causing him to stare unabashedly at Kaiba. The CEO, not expecting the expression, blushed faintly before he got himself under control. Jou had realized that while he had never considered himself gay, just open, he was very close to falling in something with Seto Kaiba. Not love, he wouldn't go that far, but... something. Something that made him extremely happy, whereas before his confinement he would have gotten drunk and/or stoned to forget about it.

"What, mutt?" Kaiba asked after the silence had stretched too long. Jou shook his head, smiled shyly. "Nuuuthin'. Hey, you never finished telling me about Mokuba's pet project."

If Seto Kaiba had not been Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp and a very highly esteemed business individual, the nurse would have had to pry him away at eight o'clock. But being who he was, he simply said goodbye and went.

Falling asleep was even harder. Jou was glad they'd given him drugs, or he wouldn't have been able to do much else than lie there and grin...

_What is this city called? Jou asked the ring silently. The information simply popped into his mind, like it had been there all along and he was simply remembering. He'd grown accustomed to this type of 'conversation' since he'd first found the ring. He was a bit wary of it at first, but thusfar the ring had shown no signs of wanting anything more than to be helpful._

_The city had once been called City of Desert Storm, and had been a shelter for all manner of folk during the fierce sandstorms. Jou understood those; he'd already miraculously survived two of them. Now, however, the city was decrepit and rundown, and was called Shadow City. It was a haven for lowlifes and sellswords, run by a lord whose reputation put to his credit at least a thousand kills, two hundred women in his harem, and an entire host of magic users. The information was slightly tainted with someone's distaste; Jou wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't realized that he was suddenly prone to prejudices he couldn't have possibly had. He knew it wasn't the ring's. Even from the beginning, Jou had known that the ring itself wasn't a sentient entity. There was someone behind it - someone who did not at all like Nykides, Lord of the Shadows._

_This is all just more and more like a D&D campaign, Jou thought to himself. I wish I'd played more. Then - wait, there are people here? _

_But as he approached the enormous, weather-worn gates, he knew it was not so. _

_Whoever fed information to the ring was either about fifty years behind the times, or was a ghost himself. The city was motionless save for the skritching of rats and the settling of dust, empty save for corpses. These were desiccated to bone and sinew._

_Jou poked at the grisly remains with the tip of his sword, having become quite accustomed to carrying and wielding the thing. It still stunned him at times to see the size of it, but he'd worked out a training routine for every dream-morning that worked every muscle in his body with the sword. Although he had no mirror, he knew his dream self was well on its way to becoming ripped._

_Now if it would only transfer to the pale, skinny self on the other side..._

_He found nothing in the bodies but the faded rags of their clothing, which meant that something had come along after all the death and carried away their valuables._

_But what?_

_Now that he'd gotten to the city, Jou decided to explore every nook and cranny. He tentatively pushed open the door to the nearest building, and it creaked open with a shower of termite dust. Inside were the furnishings appropriate for a dwelling near the gates - cheap and simple. The richer buildings would be nearer to the Palace - and again with the just knowin' stuff! Jou thought, irritated. Makes me sound like I'm a walkin' encyclopedia. The closest I ever got to this stuff was D&D - I never read fantasy or watched anime. _

_But he did want to see some of the more opulent housing, so he eased back out of the doorway and set off down the main road._

All of his exploring took two more weeks, as he was encouraged to be thorough. Not a living creature was to be found - even the rats seemed to be invisible, though he could hear them. The highlights of these weeks of fruitless searching were Kaiba's two visits.

"Hmm... this ring. It's silver, unadorned, and fits like it was made for you?"

"Yeah," Jou said, toying with the sheets. "And the weird thing is it's like the guy who made it is still around somewhere, guiding me - what?"

Kaiba was frowning. "I don't like the sound of that, mutt. Let me do some research, and I'll get back to you on it... oh. Mokuba wanted to know if there are any dragons."

_Mokuba cares, too? _"Nope, nothing so far. I'm still in the city, remember? And when I say deserted, I mean deserted. There aren't even any bugs." Jou hugged his knees. "I'm so glad they let me wake up every once in awhile. I don't know what I'd do if I were stuck alone in that place all the time..." he shuddered.

His senses dulled by time spent in sleep, Jou didn't notice Kaiba move until he was cradled in his arms. "Wha-" he yelped softly. Kaiba had buried his face in Jou's neck. "Don't talk like that, Jonouchi," Kaiba said, using his name instead of 'puppy' or 'mutt'. Jou colored brightly. "Kaiba, what are you -" He shut up as sapphire eyes gazed into his. "Don't talk as though you'll ever be alone. I won't allow that kind of talk, and I especially will not allow you to be alone."

"Really?" Jou asked, childlike again. Kaiba allowed himself a chuckle. "Really."

They gazed into one anothers' eyes for a quietly joyful eternity.

Then they both became acutely aware that Jou was perched on Kaiba's lap. And the nurse was due any minute.

They sprang apart faster than Jonouchi could track. He was getting kind of sick of that, really. Annoyed and... he leaned over the side of the bed and vomited.

Kaiba was instantly back on the bed, his strong arms holding Jou as he retched. His frown grew deeper. "Are they even feeding you anymore?"

"S-sure," Jou said weakly, pointing to the tubes strung up next to the bed. "Those green ones. They go in to here," and he pointed to his side.

Kaiba pinched the tubes lightly and felt something liquid running through. He nodded slowly, not letting go of Jou. "If you're not going to complain..."

Jou's face took on a determined look. "I want to finish this goddamn dream, Kaiba. I have to know where it ends."

_Hopefully not with your death_, Kaiba thought, but forced himself to smile.

He left, feeling troubled, as Jonouchi explained his mess to the nurse. _There's something not right about all of this, now that there are more pieces falling into place_, he thought._ I hope I can solve it, before..._

There was no point to finishing that sentence. Seto Kaiba, who had seen death many times before, pursed his lips and shoved open the door.

* * *

IN MY DEFENSE: 

- The ring's light was taken from Howl's Moving Castle; the man is brilliant. I pay him homage.

- Yes, Jou has one of Cloud's swords. Sue me. Oh, please. You'll get my debts.

- The ring is a plot point, not a pointless reference to LotR.

Look, the only reason I said what I did about reviews is because I never get any - and I work really hard on my stories. Take Orion, for example. Fourteen chapters - 67 reviews. I've seen stories with TWO chapters that have hundreds. How exactly is that fair? And please don't just say it's because their story doesn't suck. Orion has its weak points, but for what it is it certainly doesn't suck.

I want this story to be recognized soon, because it's only going to be four or five chapters long. After you finish stories, if they're not amazingly graphic sex scenes, they fall right off the map. I think the idea for this story is interesting and I'm having fun writing it - I want to know that others are enjoying it too. I guess I should have worded my request differently - I don't just want reviews for reviews. I want constructive feedback. I want to know what was running through your head as you read it, what you found funny, etc.

Bear with me, eh? And you'll have the third chapter soon. Kaiba will make more sense in it, I think.


	3. Chapter 3

**Fever Dreams**  
_a short one by _The Pop Tart Spirits

Gomenasaimasu! I didn't make it last this long out of spite; I've been uber busy in RL.

Here's the third chapter. Thanks for your reviews. I promise to stop being such a bitch about it; if you were one of the ones who were scared/disgusted into a review last chapter, then please go read the addended author notes there. It'll make a lot more sense than my apparent review whoring. I was just really frustrated... I thought no one liked my stuff anymore. But you proved me wrong!

Here's the story, d00ds. This chapter wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

* * *

Seto Kaiba was not happy. In fact, he was troubled, frustrated and a little afraid. According to every source he could access, the place where Jou was wasting his life away did not exist. Seto Kaiba had access to a plethora of sources, legal and illegal.

His suspicions were growing deeper by the moment as his lithe fingers danced over a soft-type keyboard. When he first decided to visit Jou, he'd simply walked in. No one had even glanced at him. His only suspicious observation then had been that for a government-operated sleep research facility, there was a remarkable lack of patients. Then, there was the reaction of the nurse, doctor and orderlies. It had only been his reputation that kept him from being killed, he was sure of it. Kaiba had made the split-second decision to come every week based on that observation.

Then, as the weeks progressed, Jou's weakened state and the machines he was hooked to, plus the aloof staff and their insistence that he finish his dream raised Kaiba's suspicions to the point of action. A year ago, he would have paid the place good money to kill the mutt - now, he would exhaust himself trying to save him.

Mokuba was surprisingly helpful in the matter. He called around and found out the exact dates Jou had odd dreams in the past, when he'd missed school because of them, and so on. Kaiba was hoping to find a pattern in the data, but so far his algorithm had turned up nothing.

Other than the fact that Kaiba knew it existed, and was visiting it every week, he had absolutely nothing on the place itself. The building didn't even have a name on it, just a number, and there was no sign on the drive, just a gate. This was never shut during the day; Kaiba hadn't noticed until the third or fourth time he'd happened upon it open. That was another suspicious thing, that they were trying so hard to appear inconspicuous.

Frustrated by this lack of progress, Kaiba turned his research to the dream itself. Being mindful of outside influence on Jou's dream (he did acknowledge that much of the doctor's drivel), Kaiba had quizzed Jou intensively during his visits on every little detail. He'd taken notes from memory the minute he got into his limo, too.

Settling into his chair, Kaiba adjusted his headset and spoke. "Computer, search for any and all references to dreaming and dream sequences. Commence."

"Commencing search," an alien female voice replied, and the three surrounding screens blinked alive.

It was three hours before the computer hit on something even remotely helpful. "Is ID you dot com," said the computer, impassionate as always. Kaiba was about to say "Next result," but a topic on the navigation bar caught his eye. "Dream Information: Types of Dreams: Lucid Dreaming," he said in succession as each one was selected. As he scanned the article, his eyes widened.

_Lucid dreams are those in which the dreamer is fully aware that they are dreaming. Most people wake themselves up once they realize this; others have cultivated the skill to remain in this lucid state. They become an active participant in their own dreams, making decisions and influencing the dream's outcome without awakening._

_Lucid dreaming gives us the ability to control our own dreams and steer them toward our desires. In the lucid state, we are more willing to confront threats and as a result, become more self confident. The application of lucid dreams is limited only to your imagination. Lucid dreams can help us visualize and rehearse events in our minds before they actually occur. _

_Because brain activity during the dream state is the same as during a real life event, what you "learn" or "practice" in your lucid dream state can be seen as training and preparation for reality. Our neural patterns are already being conditioned._

_At least half of all adults have had at least one lucid dream in their lifetime. Many have reported having lucid dreams without even trying. However, with practice, lucid dreaming can be learned and can be achieved at your will. _

"Manual control override," Kaiba whispered to the computer, and began clicking around.

_Why should you bother remembering your dreams?_

_1. Your dreaming mind has access to information that is not readily available to you when you are awake. Your dreams may reveal your secret desires and subconscious feelings._

_2. In remembering your dreams, you will have an increased knowledge about yourself, bring about self-awareness and self-healing. Dreams are an extension of how you perceive yourself. They can be a source of inspiration, wisdom, and joy._

_3. Learning to recall your dreams may help you become a more assertive person. In remembering your dreams, you are expressing and confronting your feelings. _

_4. Remembering your dreams can help you come to terms with stressful aspects of your lives._

Upon reading this, Kaiba swore to try and get Jou to relate every possible detail of his dreams. It could be that what he should be looking for was not the building, or some external clue as to why the government or a private company might want Jou to finish his lucid adventure. The answer obviously lay in the interpretation of the dream - something that both excited and scared the people in charge of the experiement. Kaiba checked his calendar: only three more days til his next visit. He would be sure to ask Jou about the beginning of his dream, and the symbols therein.

He then flipped to the notes he'd already made. Jou had mentioned an orange bear, a desert, a large sword... Kaiba typed them all in turn and as the definitions popped up, a pattern at last began to form - again, not in the external data, but in the dream itself.

Kabia read halfway aloud to himself, a bad habit developed from years spent researching alone. "Orange... influence of the spiritual. Bear... significant of overwhelming competition in pursuits of every kind. 'Alternatively, bears symbolize the cycle of life and death and renewal. It may signal of period of introspection and thinking.' Put them together, that's spiritual influence in either competitive pursuits or the cycle of life and death." Kaiba blinked. _Spiritual influence... _"It also says, 'To dream that you are being attacked by an animal, is a warning to be careful with those around you. Take notice on who you know in your waking like that shares and exhibits the same qualities of the animal that attacked you in your dream.' Does he know anyone bearlike? I wonder if it would reveal to much to ask. 'To dream that you kill an attacking animal, signifies that your life will be saved by a stranger'." Kaiba inspected his notes. "Well, he didn't kill that one, but the city he's in sounded like the dream is about to culminate."

He noticed a note he'd made in the margins. "He was wearing white clothing? Hm..." A few clicks later: "White represents purity, innocence, awareness, blah, blah... You may be experiencing a reawakening or have a fresh outlook on life. However, in Eastern cultures, white is associated with death and mourning." Kaiba's eyes narrowed_. Yes, that's right, we do... but Jou is American, therefore the first applies to him. I wonder if that's significant, that he's bound to define the white as purity when they define it as death?_

Kaiba made another note to ask Jou if he knew which direction he'd been travelling in. Several of the entries on the dream site were devoted to the diverse meanings of travelling or facing in a certain direction.

He remembered Jou saying something about his time in the desert, something about how it felt as though over time all of his illusions about self and self-sacrifice had been stripped away, leaving only the desire to survive. Quickly his pale fingers tap-danced 'desert'. "The wilderness with which outer life seems to present us, creating a terrible thirst and hunger for certainty and real experience of our inner being. Loneliness - being deserted - having nothing growing in your life... In the desert these desires, and the aridity, cause us to see mirages, or illusions. So the desert represents all the so called logical, intellectual, arid opinions, beliefs, speculations and biases men hold on to when they lack true inner knowledge and certainty. It also represents the actions and thoughts that arise in our lives from such beliefs and opinions."

"A sword," he read next, "may be your discrimination and search for truth; protective instincts or strength of character. The large size obviously means he feels threatened by something - your intelligance astounds me," Kaiba added caustically. "This just makes all of this dream research even less reputable than it started out. I feel as though I am giving a tarot reading to a nuclear bomb."

He sat back and cracked his fingers outward. _This gives me a good starting point, and a vague idea as to why anyone might want to see this particular dream through. However, it still tells me nothing about the organization, nor the all-elusive and crucial 'why did Jonouchi agree to this in the first place'? They must have given him a reason - for all of his bluster and nonsense, he's not a complete idiot._

_And I've still yet to find anything pertaining to a talking ring._

_Ah, well. That's enough for now... perhaps he's made some progress in that city._

* * *

_"Ungood..."_

_Jou tightened his grip on the handle of his buster sword. He cursed the ring ten kinds of foolish for being silent, and tried to size up his opponents. There were around twenty or so, they stood lower than his waist, they wore ragtag armor and carried wicked looking blades. He was vaguely reminded of Orcs, or gnolls, but these really did just look like midgets dipped in tar._

_At any rate, he was surrounded, and this close to being dinner._

_He'd wandered straight up the main road of the city, passing through deserted shops and houses, trying to find any clue at all as to why these people had simply dropped dead during their morning routines. For they had, said his reasearch therapists. The way he described the corpses as simply desiccated where they'd dropped, not appearing to have been in any kind of struggle or pain. And they were everywhere, which meant that somehow the entire city had been killed instantaneously. _

_Jou still had not found a single piece of wealth. By that time he had frustratedly considered that they'd never had any - but then the locks on the doors always convinced him otherwise._

_The city being deserted and all, Jou felt it safe to simply stroll through the front gates of the Palace. The main gates opened right into the main street of the city. The Palace itself looked to have been built before the city, out of stronger stone and metal. It, too, looked as though it had sat unused for many years... on the outside. The moment he'd opened the door to the entrance hall and glimpsed the rich and dust-free furnishings, however, Jou had realized his grave error. Whoever had lived in the Palace during his ring-guide's time lived there still, knew he was coming, and was ready for him._

_Add 'and didn't like him', as well, Jou thought despairingly as little well-armed creatures poured out of side nooks and down stairs. _

_However, they hadn't skewered him just yet, and so Jou was considering clearing a swath of them and making a mad dash for the staircase. It was wide and forboding, but he figured that if he could just get on higher ground -_

_He hadn't counted on a trapdoor._

_Since the little creatures had been encircling him rather widely, not one of them fell with him. He landed in a dusty pile of something that made him sneeze, and immediately scrambled up, reaching for his sword. "Who's there?" he shouted._

_"Hsst!" he heard, and a pale hand grabbed his arm._

_He whirled around and found himself staring into a pair of familiar, yet vastly different, sapphire eyes._

* * *

The articles and such on dreams and dream symbols come almost word-for-word from dream moods dot com and other googled sources, except for where I changed them to fit the story. If you simply skim them, you won't get a lot of information vital to the 'whys' of the story.

Thanks for bearing with me!


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